diff --git a/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py b/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
index a8d397fc96c..d1ead7b1084 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/modules/system/cron.py
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ version_added: "0.9"
 options:
   name:
     description:
-      - Description of a crontab entry.
+      - Description of a crontab entry. Required if state=absent
     default: null
     required: false
   user: